This invention relates generally to aeration devices and, more particularly, to a portable beverage aeration device for injecting air into a bottled water product so as to enhance the flavor and freshness thereof.
Consumers purchase bottled water for several reasons, including a perception of enhanced health attributes and, in some cases, for enhanced taste reasons. However, enhanced taste concerns may be significantly dependent on water purification standards or facilities of a local municipality and may be highly debatable amongst consumers. In fact, some consumers prefer the taste of water generated by high quality water fountains due to the fact that the water fountain water may have more air infused into the water than in bottled water.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for infusing air into beverages, namely, commercial carbonation systems. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices are typically not feasible for operation by individual consumers to inject a selected volume or pressure of air directly into a single bottled water product.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a portable beverage aeration device for injecting a variable amount of air into a single bottle of water so as to enhance its taste and freshness. Further, it would be desirable to have a portable beverage aeration device having a configuration for mounting atop a bottled water product and selectively pumped by a user. In addition, it would be desirable to have a portable beverage aeration device having safety measures to avoid injecting too much air into a bottled water product that may cause rupture thereof.